This Is His Third
by Charioteer
Summary: After dying twice, a former SOLDIER 1st Class gets a third chance at life thanks to the woman he, himself killed four years previously.
1. Why Can't You Just Leave People Alone?

**Author:** I'm not sure exactly what it was that made me want to write this fic, but I thought it would be interesting.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Squaresoft. I do know that Squaresoft is now called Square Enix, but they were Squaresoft when they made Final Fantasy VII so for the purposes of such fics, I will use the name Squaresoft.

* * *

"Well, I'm finished." A woman was standing in a church in what remained of Midgar's Sector 5 Slums. She had long brown hair and wore a pink dress with a red coat. Next to her stood a young man with spiky black hair wearing the uniform of SOLDIER 1st Class. "Every trace of Jenova's cells are gone. It's just him now."

The two were looking at a man floating in a spring inside the church. He wore a combination of a black trench coat and armor. The man in the SOLDIER uniform shook his head. "I still say this is a bad idea."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Zack."

"Aeris, this is his third."

Aeris looked over at Zack and smiled. "Stop worrying so much. Besides…" her smile faded as she looked back at the man in the spring. "…It's not just him that needs healing. By helping him, she might end up helping herself."

Zack sighed as he waded into the spring and picked up the man. "Why can't you just leave people alone?"

"They need help. What do you expect me to do, let them suffer?" The two rose up through the hole in the ceiling and flew off into the night.

It was raining hard and Kayson could barely see the road ahead of her as she drove home. The weather seemed in sync with her life. Four years ago, she lost everything when the plate fell on Sector 7. Right after it happened, she was thankful she was alive. Then Meteorfall came and she wasn't even sure whether she really was lucky to have survived the plate falling.

Two years ago, she was getting by. She had a job and even found a boyfriend. But just as things started looking up, there came the Geostigma Crisis. Her boyfriend and boss both died when the attack on Edge came. She probably would have died too, but she was in Kalm at the time.

One year ago, she had just started getting back on her feet when Deepground struck Kalm. She was cornered by one of their troops and she knew she was going to die. Then a man in red showed up and saved her life. She never thanked him. She almost asked for an apology.

Now she was driving back to her apartment after a late night at her new job at Seventh Heaven. She was so lost in thought that she nearly ran over the man lying in the middle of the road ahead of her. Her car skidded to a halt. She had half a mind to just leave him there. It wasn't her problem. She had absolutely no responsibility for the man's wellbeing and no reason to get involved whatsoever. So why, she asked herself, was she buckling the man into the passenger seat of her car?

She had one hell of a time getting him into her car, and an even harder time carrying him up to her apartment on the second floor of her building. When she got inside, she laid him on the couch, turned on the light, and looked at him properly for the first time.

The first thing she noticed was his hair. It was longer than her boss's, and her hair was pretty long. Not only was it long, but it was also silver. Her eyes moved down from his hair to the rest of his body. He was wearing a black trench coat that looked like it had armor built into it. It was all completely soaked, however.

She sighed and started removing the man's drenched clothes. She thanked God that his underwear appeared to be dry. While she was undressing him, she noticed that he had an unusual number of scars across his entire body. She could only imagine what he had been through.

She got a few blankets and covered him with them. She then placed a pillow underneath his head. She wished there was something she could do about his wet hair, but it would take forever to dry that much hair. That was one reason she liked having short hair. She went to her bedroom and removed her own drenched clothing and got into bed.

The next morning, she went to check on her new guest and found him lying peacefully on the couch exactly how she had left him. She walked into the bathroom with some clothes and got ready for work. When she opened the door to go back into the living room, she was shocked to see glowing, emerald eyes staring into her own from only a few inches away.

* * *

**Author:** I would absolutely love it if the number of reviews were at least 1/20 the number of hits.

**NMG:** Like that'll ever happen.

**Author:** What are you doing here? This isn't your fic! Go back to Just Another Job!


	2. Fabric Softener?

**Author:** Sephiroth wakes up for the first time since his most recent ressurection and finds himself half naked in a stranger's apartment.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Squaresoft. I wish I did. Then again, considering my utter lack of buisiness skills, if I owned Squaresoft/Square Enix, I would probably end up running it into the ground. Then we would never get a Final Fantasy VII remake. So rejoice in the fact that I have nothing to do with the way Square Enix is run.

* * *

He had spent so much time in the dark and the cold. It had all but consumed him. For the longest time, he thought of nothing but his return and what he would do to those who had dared to stand in his way.

But something had changed. Now he looked back at what had led him to this point. He had never doubted the path he had chosen. He had served Jenova faithfully until the day he died.

He felt warmer, much warmer. He opened his eyes and saw light for the first time in over a year. He couldn't see anything. It was too bright. He closed his eyes again and heard someone approach him. After a few moments, they sighed and walked away. He heard a door nearby open and close. He tried again to open his eyes.

It took some time to adjust to the light. When he had, he sat up and examined his surroundings. He was sitting on an old couch in front of a small television. Directly to his left was a kitchen and to the right of that was a hall. Behind him was a door that he supposed was the way out and to his right was a small balcony looking out on an unknown city.

He threw the blankets off of him and rose, realizing that all of his clothes had been removed, save his undergarments. He looked around him, but his clothing was nowhere to be found. After searching the living room and kitchen, he walked down the hall. It was a short hallway with only three doors. The door to his right led to a bedroom and the door ahead of him turned out to be nothing more than a closet.

Through process of elimination, he determined that the door on the left must be a bathroom. It was occupied at the time, so he waited just outside the door. His patience was beginning to wear thin and he was considering breaking down the door when it opened.

The woman who was in the bathroom nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him standing there. After a few seconds of just staring at each other, he spoke. "Where are my clothes?"

The woman was extremely shaken and was just barely able to get out that they were being dried downstairs. He moved to allow her past and she went to fetch them. When she got to the laundry room she shared with three other people, she found that someone had taken the man's clothes out of dryer and replaced them with their own, throwing his clothes onto the floor.

She picked up the coat and saw that the half that had been touching the floor was covered in dirt. Meaning she would have to wash it and the rest of the clothes that now littered the floor before she could try and dry them again. She stuffed the clothes into the washing machine and headed back upstairs to get detergent.

When she walked back into the apartment, she saw the man emerge from the bathroom holding the armor she had removed from his clothes. He looked over at her and, when he saw she did not have his clothes, narrowed his eyes. "Someone took your clothes out of the dryer," she explained. "I have to wash them too now, so it might take a little while." She walked past him and got a bottle of detergent out of the closet. "By the way," she started, walking to the door, detergent in hand, "what's your name?"

"Sephiroth," he answered simply. Then, after a moment, he asked, "You?"

She stopped for a moment and wondered if she had heard that name before. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite think of where she heard it. "Kayson," she answered.

As Kayson walked out the door, Sephiroth went to the large, glass door that led to the balcony and looked out on the city he was in. He didn't recognize it, but it seemed somehow familiar. Kayson returned and took the bottle of detergent back to the closet. It seemed strange to Sephiroth that she had come back, even after he told her who he was. "Have you…heard of me?" he asked.

Kayson shook her head. "I don't think so. Should I have?"

"Maybe not."

Kayson tried to figure out what he meant by that, but the clock on the wall above the television caught her eye. "Uh oh." Sephiroth turned around to see what was wrong. Kayson grabbed the bag that was next to the door and told him she was going to be late for work. "The fabric softener is in the closet," she added as she ran out the door.

Sephiroth was a very knowledgeable man. He knew many things, including more ways to kill a man than he could count. Laundry, however, was one thing he possessed absolutely no knowledge of.

* * *

**Author: **Tell me what you think!


	3. How hard could it be?

**Author:** If you listen to mom calling, you'll have heard about my muse "hitting the merlot". Considering how well the story's going, I'm beginning to think I should stock up...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Squaresoft...yet. Kayson, however, is my creation.

* * *

Having no knowledge of how to wash clothes, Sephiroth simply didn't worry about it and got something to eat. Afterwards, he sat and watched the television for a couple hours. After sitting through an utterly ridiculous program about a bunch of housewives living in Kalm and an episode of a game show in which contestants had to spin a large wheel and guess how much gil various items cost, he turned off the television, found the fabric softener, and went downstairs.

_How hard could it be?_ he asked himself as he walked into the laundry room. But when he opened up one of the machines, his clothes weren't there. He figured it must have just been the wrong machine, so he opened up the other one. Again, his clothes were not there. After a thorough search of the room, he determined that his clothes were gone.

Figuring that he might still have some gil left in his SOLDIER account, he walked out of the laundry room and started wandering around town, looking for a bank. After a while, he found one and approached the ATM on the wall outside. He managed to access his account quite easily. It seemed as though not only did Shinra never close down his account after his supposed death at Nibelheim nine years ago, they never even stopped paying him. As a result, Sephiroth's balance was very high. Perhaps that is why the man behind him decided to pull out a knife and try and rob the former SOLDIER.

Sephiroth calmly walked away from the crumpled heap that had been stupid enough to try and rob him. He had left the man alive, but barely. If he didn't receive help soon, he wouldn't make it. Even so, it seemed odd to Sephiroth that he didn't kill him there and then. He had never hesitated to kill those much less deserving of death before. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud whistle from overhead.

He looked up to see a trio of construction workers laughing hysterically. He decided that killing them would be a waste of effort and ignored them. Eventually, Sephiroth managed to find a clothing store. Several minutes later, he emerged from the store clothed in black slacks and a white t-shirt with a black jacket over top and went off in search of something to eat.

He found a place that looked promising, but noticed an all too familiar face in the window. He didn't know what made him do it, but the moment he caught sight of Cid Highwind, he left as quickly and quietly as he could. As he entered another restaurant, this one empty of familiar faces, he told himself it was because of his lack of materia and a weapon. Not to mention the fact that he was no longer wearing armor.

As he sat eating what appeared to be a sandwich, but tasted like plastic in between two pieces of cardboard, he started to question what he had done that day. First, he had let a man who tried to rob him live, and then he did the same to those who had dared disrespect him. After that he had run away from a potential confrontation with a man that played a role in his demise four years ago. And now he was sitting in a restaurant eating the most disgusting excuse for a sandwich he had ever tasted. What had happened to him? What had made him so different from before?

Then he felt it. Or rather, he realized that he didn't feel it, feel her. The part of Jenova that had been inside him all his life was gone. But for some reason, even though he had lost something he had once held very dear, it wasn't upsetting to him at all. Much had changed, including his perception of Jenova. He thought of her not as "Mother", but as Jenova.

He sat there trying to figure out what had happened to him and what he should do about it. He had no idea how he would get the Jenova cells back, or even if he wanted them back. His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time not by a whistle, but by a voice. "What are you doing here?"

Sephiroth looked up to see Kayson standing next to him. "Do you work here?" he asked.

"Of course I don't. I work at a place that serves _food_." She looked at the so called sandwich in Sephiroth's hands. She sighed. "Come on. I'll take you over to Seventh Heaven."

As they approached the bar, Sephiroth felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. Kayson led him inside and sat him down at one of the tables. "Marlene," she addressed a small girl of about eight behind the counter. "Two sandwiches and a couple glasses of water, please."

Marlene poured the water and handed the glasses to Kayson, who brought them over to the table where Sephiroth was sitting and handed him one. "Thanks," he muttered absent-mindedly, taking a sip of water.

Kayson looked at him concerned. "You okay?"

"I've just been thinking."

"About?"

"I feel different than I was before. I don't know how it happened. I don't even know whether I'm better off this way or not. I just don't understand any of this."

"I know how you feel." Sephiroth looked at her questioningly and she told him about her past, about what had happened to her from before the plate falling on Sector 7 to when she found him lying in the road the night before. As she spoke, Sephiroth looked at her seriously for the first time.

She had a small frame. Her hair was cut short and was dark and untidy. And there was a sadness in her sky blue eyes that Sephiroth began to understand as she told him of all that she went through. As she talked about Meteorfall and the Geostigma Crisis, Sephiroth felt an emotion he hadn't experienced in over nine years: guilt.

When Kayson had finished she saw that tears were running down Sephiroth's face. She placed her hand on his and he looked up at her. She gave him a warm smile and Sephiroth thought of what her reaction would be if she knew what he had done and decided that he could not let that happen. He rose from his chair and started to walk out. "Where are you going?" Kayson asked.

Sephiroth looked back at her. "You probably have to get back to work soon. I'll see you later." Then he left before anyone who would recognize him entered the bar.

A few minutes after he left, Tifa entered the bar to find Kayson working a half hour before her lunch break had started. Tifa walked over to Kayson and asked, "So, what's his name?"

"Excuse me?" Kayson replied, cleaning glasses behind the bar.

"You're working half an hour earlier than normal."

"So?"

"So, you'll be leaving half an hour early."

"So?"

"So, there's something that's got you eager to leave."

"So?"

"So, what's his name?"

"I'm not telling you," Kayson replied, a small smile forming on her face.

"Why not?" Kayson shrugged and Tifa thought for a moment. "Tell you what. Give me his name, and I'll give you the rest of the day off."

"Seriously?" Kayson asked, looking up at her boss in surprise.

"Seriously." Kayson grabbed her bag and ran for the door. "Kayson!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What?"

"His name?"

"Oh, right. His name's Sephiroth."

Before Tifa could say or do anything, Kayson was already in her car and driving away. After a few moments, she ran into the back room and opened up a small chest that was full of materia.

* * *

**Author:** What are you doing?

**Tifa:** Trying to decide what kind of materia to take.

**Author:** I think I see a master fire materia over there. Maybe you should take that one.

**Tifa:** Good idea.

**Tifa grabs the fire materia and runs off. Author:** Now this should be interesting...


	4. Even me?

**Author:** I can't think of anything to say. Nope, not a thing. R&R.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Squaresoft. I do own Kayson.

* * *

Sephiroth was standing on the balcony of Kayson's apartment. He didn't really have much of a choice about being there. Both the front door and the glass door were locked and he didn't have a key. Besides, where else was he going to go?

He was thinking about how he had come back, and more importantly, why. Why bring him, of all people, back to the land of the living? Surely there were those more deserving. He thought of Zack and the Cetra he had slain. Why couldn't they return in his place? They had both earned it.

_True, but you're the one who needed help._

Sephiroth wasn't sure at first whether he really heard that, or if he had just imagined it. His head rose slowly and he peered into the sky. He could almost see her, the woman whose life he had ended in such spectacular fashion. Then he realized who it was that had brought him back. "It was you…"

_Bingo._

He didn't understand it. Why would she help him, after everything he did, to her especially? "Why? Why help me?"

_Everyone deserves a second chance._

"Even me?"

_Especially you. Although technically this is your third._

"So you want me to redeem myself? Is that it?"

_It's your third chance. What you do with it is up to you._

Sephiroth heard the glass door open behind him and he turned around to see Kayson. "You didn't leave my door unlocked all day, did you?"

"No. I was locked out so I jumped up here to wait for you."

Kayson was a little taken aback. She knew Sephiroth wasn't exactly normal, but she didn't expect him to able to jump to a second story balcony. Normally, she wouldn't have bought something that ridiculous, but something about his face told her he wasn't lying. She couldn't think of anything to say. "You get off work pretty early, don't you?" Sephiroth asked in an attempt to break the silence.

Kayson smiled a bit. "My boss gave me the rest of the day off in exchange for your name."

"Your boss wasn't that little girl, was she?"

"No, that was Marlene. My boss is a bit older than her. Her name's Tifa."

Sephiroth recognized the name and his blood ran cold. Praying it wasn't the same woman, he asked Kayson what she looked like. She was about to answer when something behind Sephiroth caught her eye. "That's her there," she said, pointing to a woman running for the apartment at breakneck speeds. Sephiroth turned just as Tifa looked up at the balcony.

Everything seemed to freeze as the two warriors and enemies saw each other. Sephiroth wasn't about to let Tifa take away his brand new life. He leapt from the balcony to the street behind Tifa. By the time she had stopped and turned around, Sephiroth was almost a block away.

The chase through the streets lasted several minutes. Eventually, Tifa had gained on Sephiroth enough to use the materia she had in her hand. A great fireball flew out and towards Sephiroth. There was no way he could outrun it so he stopped and turned on the spot. Moments later, the fireball was upon him and he used his left arm to swat it away. This saved him, but unfortunately there was a house across the street that was quickly engulfed in flames.

He and Tifa both looked at the blaze. For a moment, neither one moved a muscle. Then, at the same instant, they both acted. Tifa was determined to finish off Sephiroth once and for all before he could do any more damage and charged straight at him. Sephiroth, on the other hand, was determined that this time, things would be different. In the instant he turned his back on Tifa and made for the burning home, he left behind everything that he had become since Nibelheim. As he entered the building that was being devoured by flames, he became the hero he was always meant to be.

* * *

**Author:** I liked Sephiroth better before Nibelheim. Crisis Core players will understand exactly what I mean.


End file.
